Top picks Five Italian scientists were sentenced to 6 years in prison for failing to properly communicate the risk of an earthquake that devastated the town of l’Aquila. Here are several pieces about the ill-judged decision:
First, my piece from a few months back on why earthquake prediction is either really improbable or outrightly impossible
Nature’s report tells us the l'Aquila prosecutor sought a sentence of 4 years, but the judge awarded 6 and hasn't said why
Erik Klemetti has a good analysis of what the verdict means for scientists
David Ropeik argues that the central issue is risk communication. But Maria Brumm makes a good argument for why the risk-communication & quake-prediction sides of l'Aquila aren't separable. David Spiegelhalter also chips in on risk.
"It was a very Italian and medieval decision," says Claudio Eva, one of the scientists
Emily Willingham wonders if the government could have taken more preventive measures. Along similar lines, "Earthquake safety is about door locks not fire alarms," says Chris Rowan.
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